Cole Hamels talk continues. Yesterday, we learned that Ruben Amaro and the Phillies had received an offer from the Red Sox for Hamels. According to the Boston Globe, the package that the Red Sox offered was to heavy on the major league side with not a lot of prospect talent. Amaro, Gillick and the Phillies have been very adamant in receiving premium young talent in return for Hamels as they should.
CBS Sports Howard Eskin sat down with Larry Bowa this morning and among the topics discussed was Cole Hamels and how the Phillies cannot accept anything less than top talent for their left-handed ace.
“You can’t miss on this, Howard [Eskin],” Bowa said on Monday of trading Hamels. “You got to make sure you get the right kid here when you trade him. There can’t be any, ‘Well maybe this guy can develop.'”
Phillies fans are all too familiar with the "maybe" prospects. When the Phillies traded for Roy Halladay, they dealt Kyle Drabek, an untouchable prospect at the time. Drabek never developed and struggled in Triple-A, posting a 4.18 ERA over 32 starts this season. To get Cliff Lee from Cleveland, they traded Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco and Lou Marson. None of them really panned out. Also, we cannot forget about guys like Phillippe Aumont, Tommy Joseph, Tyson Gillies and JC Ramirez. All prospects the Phillies got in trades that had high expectations yet never lived up to them. Even though prospects are somewhat of an unknown, Larry Bowa says you have to be insistent on getting those "can't miss" guys.
“I know there’s no guarantees of prospects playing at the Big League level, but when you have scouts all over the country that are naming a couple guys in that Boston Red Sox’s near cant-misses barring injuries, you gotta hit on something like that,” Bowa continued. “And right now, I guess Boston’s not willing to give up any of those kids.
“Pat Gillick is pretty good. And if you keep reading his comments, you have to be very patient when it comes to somebody like Cole Hamels.”
Eskin and Bowa also discussed Maikel Franco and Ryan Howard and what their situations are as Spring Training approaches. To check out all of Bowa's comments, click here.
